By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Maybe Jadon Sancho didn't know about his latest achievement right after he had scored the 1-1 equalizer in the Cologne arena in minute 70. A shy smile went over his face, but his goal turned a problematic game to good for the Blacks and Yellows.
And more: The 19-year-old Youngster, educated at Manchester City, having joined Borussia Dortmund a year ago for eight million euros (about 8.99 million US dollars), scored his 15th goal in the Bundesliga. He set a new mark as he is the youngest player (19 years and 151 days) to have reached that level.
So far Horst Koeppel owned that mark in 1967; being 34 days older.
It though wasn't all the England international could give in a tight game as he delivered an assist leading to Dortmund's 3-1 win against the newly promoted 1. FC Cologne.
It was his 40th goal participation in his 58th game for Borussia. Since the 2018/2019 season, he achieved 16 assists. No other player in one of Europe's five top leagues reached the same mark in that time.
Sancho continues his record-setting performance from last season when he was Dortmund's second-best when it comes to scorer-points delivering 32 in 43 games right behind Dortmund star striker and German international Marco Reus.
Never before in the Bundesliga's history, an 18-year-old has achieved that many assists and scorer points.
London-born Sancho is Dortmund's record man. Having scored his 11th goal in the German league last season, he was the youngest player to reach that number (19 years and 19 days).
His outstanding performance seems to prove it was the right step to leave the Citizens as he was chosen for England while in Dortmund's shirt. Only six players have been younger when appointed for the Three Lions. In October 2018 Sancho made his debut for England.
His value rose to a new high. According to "transfermarkt" (a web page delivering football facts) he was worth around 20 million at the beginning of the 2018/2019 season. Meanwhile, the figure increased to over 100 million, which makes him the most valuable player under 20.
Sancho's performance seems to attract other prominent clubs such as Manchester United and Paris St. Germain.
According to several media reports has Dortmund increased his salary from three million per season to over ten million. In return, Sancho is said to have rejected offers from Manchester and Paris and promised to fulfil his until 2022 running contract.
But the Citizens are said to own a "matching right"-contract providing them a buying option in case Dortmund is considering to sell the talented forward and is accepting a transfer offer from any other side.
"Jadon is a great and unique talent. Even Bayern's defenders were afraid having to face him. But that is nothing new as he has so much talent," former Chinese Super League performer and Belgian international Axel Witsel commented after Sancho had delivered an assist against the Bavarians in the German Supercup final (2-0).
Sancho's former coach Sayce Holmes-Lewis is convinced his former protege is ahead of a great career. "If he goes on like this, he is going to be Europe's footballer of the year or World footballer of the year one day,"
So far, Dortmund could withstand all offers, but many predict to keep Sancho is getting more difficult with every goal or assist he delivers.
Dortmund coach Lucien Favre suggested Sancho should fully concentrate on his job in Dortmund and keep his development in mind. "He should think: Tomorrow I want to be better than today. That is the best guiding principle for him."
